If I trust God to provide, is it wrong to ask to be paid?

Where the question came from

A man I coach asked me this on our call this week. He's been giving his time and talent to a project he believes the Lord put in front of him, and he has never asked to be paid for his part. His question: "Is it foolish of me to just continue to think that the Lord will provide and not be more conscious about these things?"

No biblical mandate against a fair wage

There is no biblical mandate for not requesting a fair wage for doing work. Never.

You should believe that the Lord will continue to provide. You should also be a good steward of the gifts God has given you.

When Jesus sent His followers out, He told them to stay and eat what they were given, "for the laborer deserves his wages" (Luke 10:7, ESV).

I fall into this trap too

I fall into this trap so many times. I feel bad, especially when it comes to serving people who really need something. I overextend myself, because I know God wants me to impact them. And yet God hasn't asked me to do that for free.

If God clearly communicated to me that I was to go not-for-profit, I would do it. I would kick and scream and not be happy about it, but I would do it. But what God has called me to do is use the gifts and talents He gave me to serve the people He brings to me. And in doing that, professionally, I have to provide for my family.

Stewardship takes money

God calls me to steward my resources for other people in the community, to bless people when I can bless people. Well, if I don't make money, I can't do those things. We can reason all day long about what's too much and what's not enough.

I keep going back to what Scripture shows us. Look at Joseph. Look at how financially blessed he was, all the while he was on this tragic story of constantly getting wrecked.

This burdens me. I think one of the biggest issues with Christians taking the gas pedal off of professional success is that, little by little, we have deteriorated our opportunities to serve the world. The number one contributor to just about every major mission and need in the world is a Christian organization. Well, that only comes by way of money. Somebody fuels those things.

Ask, with guardrails

Within reason, and with the right guardrails to never be greedy, we should always strive to ask for money for the things we do, trusting that's what God calls us to do. Then we take that money and go use it for the glory of God.

I'm passionate about this because I personally struggle with it: how I ask for money, and how I give of my time. Long story short, ask for money. You can always be flexible.

This is what we mean by Clear Calling, the milestone a man reaches at the end of Purposeful in Pursuit: using the gifts God gave you to serve the people He brings you, and providing for your family while you do it.

The one move for today

Pick one piece of work you're giving away right now. Ask yourself whether God clearly told you to do it for free. If He didn't, write down a fair number and ask for it this week. You can stay flexible on the terms.